The Naqshbandi Haqqani Principle of Yad Kard

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

The fifth principle of the Naqshbandi Haqqani Sufi Order is “Essential Remembrance”, Yad Kard.  For the Naqshbandiyyah, remembrance is practiced in the silent dzikr.  We keep Allah (s.w.t.), the Beloved, always in our heart.  “Yad” means “dzikr”.  “Kard” refers to the essence of dzikr.  The seeker must make dzikr by negation and affirmation on his tongue until he reaches the state of the contemplation of his heart, muraqabah.  That state will be achieved by reciting every day the negation, “Laa ilaha,” and affirmation, “illa Allah,” on the tongue, between 5,000 and 10,000 times, removing from the heart the elements that tarnish and rust it.  This dzikr polishes the heart and takes the seeker into the state of Manifestation.  We keep that daily dzikr, either by heart or by tongue, repeating “Allah”, the Name of His Essence which encompasses all other Names and Attributes, or by negation and affirmation.  This daily dzikr brings the seeker into the Perfect Presence of the One Who is Glorified. 

The dzikr by negation and affirmation, in the manner of the Naqshbandi Sufi Masters, demands that the seeker close his eyes, close his mouth, clench his teeth, glue his tongue to the roof of his mouth, and hold his breath.  He must recite the dzikr through the heart, by negation and affirmation, beginning with the word, “Laa,” “No.”  He lifts this “No” from under his navel up to his brain.  Upon reaching his brain the word, “No”, brings out the word “ilaha,” which means “god”, and refers to any authority, strength or power.  The dzikr moves from the brain to the left shoulder, and hits the heart with, “illa Allah,” “except Allah.”  When that word hits the heart, its energy and heat spreads to all the parts of the body.  The seeker who has denied all that exists in this world with the words, “Laa ilaha,” affirms with the words, “illa Allah,” that all that exists has been Annihilated in the Divine Presence. 

The seeker repeats this with every breath, inhaling and exhaling, always making it come to the heart, according to the number of times prescribed to him by his shaykh.  The seeker will eventually reach the state where in one breath, he can repeat “Laa ilaha illa Allah” twenty-three times.  A perfect shaykh can repeat “Laa ilaha illa Allah” an infinite number of times in every breath.  The only goal is Allah (s.w.t.) and that there is no other goal for us.  To realise the Divine Presence as the Only Existence manifests in the heart of the murid the love of the Prophet (s.a.w.) and at that moment he utters, “Muhammadar Rasulullah,” “Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah.” 

According to Khwaja ‘Ubaydullah al-Ahrar (q.s.), “The real meaning of dzikr is inward awareness of Allah.  The purpose of dzikr is to attain this consciousness.”  The purpose of the dzikr is to keep one’s heart and attention entirely focused on the Beloved in love and devotion.  The dzikr is not just repeated as words, but is in the heart. 

Remembrance of the tongue becomes remembrance of the heart.  Shaykh Muhyi ad-Din Abu Muhammad ibn Abu Swalih ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (q.s.) said, “At the first stage one recites the name of Allah with one’s tongue; then when the heart becomes alive one recites inwardly.  At the beginning one should declare in words what one remembers.  Then stage by stage the remembrance spreads throughout one's being — descending to the heart then rising to the soul; then still further, it reaches the realm of the asrar; further to the khafi; to the akhfa.”